The world of technology is ever-changing, and 2017 was no exception. The trends that govern a successful online strategy five years ago could be obsolete now. If you’re a tech-savvy IT education seeker or someone who manages your company’s online presence, you want to be aware of these changes and trends. Online marketing is one of the most complicated and highly sought after skills in the tech industry, and you can never learn enough about this fascinating subject!
IT Education Includes Being Aware of Online Marketing Strategy
To have a better insight into the trends this past year, here are some of the most online marketing updates in 2017.
“Fred” from Google
While this was not tagged as an official update, it was certainly one of the most talked about. The name friend was coined by a Google analyst named Gary Illyes. He said that Google has created an updated that is aimed at lessening black hat tactics which have to do with aggressive advertising.
It instituted a worldwide clean up of dummy sites that were made and put up not for any specific purpose — like answering a query — but generating revenue of some sort. This good news for anyone who has been brought down the rabbit hole by this sites which pepper the initial pages of search results for almost any product or service.
Backlink Updates
Although it’s vague what actually was updated, there was a major shift in how backlinks work. It became obvious around February this year that there was something different about it. Later on, chances were also noticed on private blog networks and Penguin.
Unlike the latter where the solution was obvious — create relevant and purposeful content, you need to do some trial and error with this one. Figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Penalties for Intrusive Interstitial
Interstitials are not fun for anyone. These are ads that load in between two different content pages. They deter from the actual page and makes the user experience worse than it has to be.
The same is true for pop-ups for mobile users. They significantly slow down the loading of the page and many other unwarranted complications. Looks like Google made good on its promise a few months when it said it was going to do something about intrusive interstitials and pop ups.
Generally, these updates weren’t just made for the users — but they were the primary priority. They’re also good news for sites with actual products and which pride themselves for good design, content and ethics. With the bad sites lower in rankings, it’s your time to shine.
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New, unconfirmed Google ranking update ‘Fred’ shakes the SEO world